This invention relates to measuring the length of cloth manufactured or processed utilizing a wheel driven by the cloth as it passes over a roll to generate a signal. It is difficult to accurately measure the length of cloth moving in open width because of varying tension in the cloth and because finding a location for properly sensing the cloth passing to a takeup roll for reflecting the length has proved to be a problem. Pick counters are often employed to determine the length of cloth manufactured on a loom because if the number of picks per inch of the cloth construction is known, it is believed possible to count the total number of picks woven by the loom to determine length of cloth. Inaccuracies result, however, because of the number of picks per unit of lengths is seldom if ever precisely known, and any inaccuracy becomes multiplied as many yards of cloth are woven.
Accordingly, it is an important object of this invention to provide an accurate device for sensing the cloth woven on a loom and taken up on a takeup roll to measure its length.
Another important object of the invention is to utilize a desirable sensing location and then accurately sense and measure the cloth taken up.
Still another important object of the invention is to utilize the direction roll just prior to take up to measure the cloth passing thereover and tangential thereto to accurately reflect the length of cloth.
Another object of the invention is to control tension in the cloth during measurement utilizing rotations of a measuring wheel to measure yardage of the cloth taken up.